I just got home from “Art Show 2011″ in Hollywood, which was in a massive warehouse space on north La Brea. The idea was that Mr. Brainwash, the new “art star” from 2008, invited street artists from all over the world to submit art, with instructions on how to mount it, and he would show it here in LA without selling a thing or charging admission. The show was only supposed to be open for 6 days but today there was a sign today saying they were expanding for two more days (Jan 1 & 2) which is no surprise considering the line to get in looped around the corner.
People are still scratching their heads over Brainwash, wondering if he is for real, or if he is just a construct of the artist Banksy, made up for the sake of “Exit Through the Gift Shop” and now acting as the public face of a street artist who has made a career out of staying anonymous. I for one, believe the conspiracy theories, and think Banksy has had a hand in it all. Mr. Brainwash showed up today (in the picture to the right) and he was covered in paint splotches, and I just have to say for the record I don’t know many artists who don’t clean up for their own shows. It’s like the baker of a beautiful wedding cake being covered in flour days later so we believe he really baked it.
Anyway, his work was very hit or miss, and most of it was a big rip off of Claes Oldenburg, but a lot of the stuff contributed by other people was great. Please enjoy the pictures since the show was up so briefly (click on the thumbnails to make them bigger.)
